


Cocooned

by wackyjacqs



Series: Bizarre Holidays [86]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Episode: s02e10 Bane, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-03-27
Packaged: 2019-12-18 14:28:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18251714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wackyjacqs/pseuds/wackyjacqs
Summary: “Take a seat, captain,” Jack says quietly. He waits until she follows his order before he drops down onto the chair beside her.His shoulder brushes against Sam’s as he leans forward and mirrors her position, his elbows resting on his thighs as he idly turns the candy bar over in his hands.“Feel like telling me what’s going on inside of that head of yours?”





	Cocooned

**Author's Note:**

> The curse of the food-related holidays strikes again. Send help. 😂
> 
> Written for ‘Nougat Day’ (26 March), and an episode tag for season 2’s ‘Bane’. I know the first candy bar Ally gave Teal’c didn’t necessarily feature nougat, but… I’m going to say the others did.

Jack gently taps the bar of candy against his thigh as he makes his way towards the infirmary. He has no idea where Teal’c suddenly developed a craving for Baby Ruth bars, but he’s just glad to have his friend back at the SGC and if the chocolate helps aid his recovery, he can have all the candy he wants. He rounds the corner and sees Carter sitting on one of the chairs in the corridor.

“Carter.”

“Sir.”

“Everything alright?”

“Yes, sir,” she says as she gets to her feet. “Janet wanted to check Teal’c’s vitals once more before Doctor Harlow left, so…”

He nods at her explanation, then glances around the corridor as an uncomfortable silence falls, and whilst he tries to think of something to say, he’s saved from having to make conversation when the captain gestures towards his right hand.

“What have you been up to, sir?”

“Ah, Teal’c was getting hungry,” he shrugs as he holds up the chocolate bar. “Apparently this one’s his favorite.”

Sam’s lips twist into a smile before she sobers. “After everything he’s been through, I think it’s the least he deserves.”

He finds himself agreeing as they fall silent again, but noticing the change in the captain’s mood, he risks a glance in her direction. Even though she’s staring at her boots, he’s still able to see the flicker of guilt in her expression. He knows Sam feels responsible for how the situation with Teal’c, Maybourne and Doctor Harlow escalated; she had placed her trust in the doctor, told them that he was a good guy and could be trusted – and yet he’d gone behind their backs and sided with Maybourne.

Harlow’s decision, however, wasn’t Carter’s fault and in the end, he’d realized his error in judgment and helped save Teal’c.

“I, ah, I heard you and the doc got into it pretty good.”

Sam’s gaze snaps to his and he holds out a hand in a placating gesture when he sees the fire in her eyes.

“I’d trusted him. I thought –” She stops abruptly and sighs. “I was just so angry.”

“Look, I was angry with the guy too,” he admits. “He made a mistake putting his trust in Maybourne, but he came through for us in the end, Carter. That’s what matters.”

“Yeah,” she mumbles as she crosses her arms and studiously avoids his gaze.

He reaches out and gently taps the back of his fingers against her arm. “Hey.”

When she meets his eye, he knows he hasn’t helped to ease her guilt and he realizes this is one of the times when he needs to be a commanding officer. It’s his job to talk to his team – to remind them of the rules if they step out of line, to praise them if they come up with another ingenious way to save Earth, to offer encouragement when they need it the most.

“Take a seat, captain,” he says quietly as he points to the empty chairs. He waits until Sam sits before he drops down onto the one beside her and lets his shoulder brush against hers as he leans forward and mirrors her position. His elbows rest on his thighs as he idly turns the candy bar over in his hands. “Feel like telling me what’s going on inside of that head of yours?”

There’s no immediate response, but he keeps his eye on the candy, content to give Sam the time she needs to figure out whatever she wants – or doesn’t want – to say. When she does finally speak, her words are so quiet, that Jack almost misses them.

“It’s my fault Teal’c ran.”

“How’d you come to that conclusion?”

“If I hadn’t suggested Timothy be brought to the SGC –”

“So help me Carter, if you even _think_ about finishing that sentence.”

“Colonel?”

He turns to look at her and sees her frowning at him with a mix of confusion and disapproval.

“If you hadn’t recommended Harlow, Teal’c would be dead right now.”

She flinches at his statement, but there’s no way around the truth.

“We were so close to losing him, sir, and it would have been because of me.”

“Carter,” he sighs. “You can’t blame yourself for this. You did nothing wrong.”

He hears Sam sigh this time and he shifts in his seat to get comfortable. “What?”

“Do you think I’m too trusting, sir?”

He raises a brow in surprise at her question. “What makes you say that?”

“I always try to see the good in people,” she explains quietly as she lets her gaze fall to her hands. “But maybe that’s starting to affect my judgment.”

“For crying out loud,” he mutters under his breath. “How long have we known each other?”

“Two years, sir.”

“Right. And in that time, I’ve yet to see you make a bad decision.”

“But –”

“If we were to face this situation again tomorrow,” he interrupts, “would you change anything?”

She ponders his question for a few moments before she shakes her head. “Probably not, sir.”

“That’s how you know you made the right call.”

The silence that follows his revelation is deafening and he feels some of the tension leave Sam’s body.

“We’re all out of our depth here, Sam, and there will be times when we’ll have to make difficult decisions, but we’re a _team_. We need to trust each other and trust ourselves that we are doing the right thing. OK?”

When she nods, he nudges her elbow with his. “Trust yourself, Carter – because I do.”

It takes a few seconds before Sam looks up at him. "Thank you, sir."  
  
It takes him even longer to realize he’s staring and quickly averts his gaze. Seeing the chocolate bar still in his hand, he decides to rip open the packaging.

“Um, sir?”

“I’ll get him another one,” he shrugs. “The docs will be a while.”

He breaks the bar in half and hands it to Sam, noticing the way her fingers brush against his as she takes the proffered chocolate. He observes her until she meets his gaze. Her eyes are wide and bright and he can finally see her self-belief start to return, but there’s also a vulnerability there that he finds strangely captivating. Slowly, he finds himself matching her smile and as he leans back in the chair, he’s happy to let the silence fill the space, knowing that Sam – and SG-1 – will be just fine.

**Author's Note:**

> So, even though Dr Harlow initially (and naively) sided with Maybourne, I really liked his character, but I felt that Sam struggled with his presence at the SGC – even after he switched sides to help them save Teal’c. She just seemed a little awkward around him, as if she doesn’t fully trust him... or doesn't trust herself because she recommended him in the first place, so that’s where my sleep-deprived brain ended up. 
> 
> Also, whilst I wouldn’t call ‘Bane’ an overly shippy episode, there is one really cute S/J moment. It’s just after Jack suggests using the defibrillator on the symbiote, and when his idea works, he makes a comment about his “work here being done” and Sam smiles in response – but he’s looking _right_ at her when he says it and then when he casually shrugs, he’s like, ‘Yep. Made Carter smile. My job here is done.’ And then he shoots her a little grin. 
> 
> I’d never noticed it before but trust me, it’s there. I had to watch this episode twice today and I ended up obsessing over this scene.


End file.
